These music museums are a site to hear

A costume designed by Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character is display at the Victoria and Albert museum in London, England. DAN KITWOOD, GETTY IMAGES

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Abba, from left to right, Bjoern Ulvaeus , Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson are seen in this undated file photo originally from Polydoor Records. An ABBA museum dedicated to the music, clothing and history of the Swedish pop group will open in Stockholm in 2013. ASSOCIATED PRESS

The 55th annual Grammy Awards will be held today at Staples Center, recognizing outstanding achievement in the music industry. What better time to delve deeper into the history of some of the greats at these museum exhibitions?

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles:The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live celebrates the legacies of all forms of recorded music and the creative process of music-making. Permanent exhibits explore titans and significant events from rock and hip-hop to country, classical, Latin, rhythm and blues, and jazz. One-of-a-kind artifacts, films and interactive experiences entertain visitors.

Special exhibits this year highlight Whitney Houston and the Beach Boys. "Whitney!" provides an in-depth look at the icon who won six Grammys, through rare photographs and footage. The exhibit runs through May 27.

"Good Vibrations: 50 Years of the Beach Boys" shares early family photos, the surfboard featured on the "Surfin' Safari" album cover and Carl Wilson's Gibson ES-335 guitar. The group received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. That exhibit runs through September.

Seattle:The Experience Music Project is a high-tech museum of rock music founded in 2000 by Microsoft's Paul Allen. The collection has more than 80,000 artifacts, including instruments once played by the likes of Bob Dylan and Bo Diddley.

Three special exhibits will take place this year. "Hear My Train a Comin': Hendrix Hits London" delves into the guitarist's launch to international stardom. Featured are lyrics, personal instruments, original photographs, rare concert footage and several of his most outrageous outfits, including custom-tailored jackets by Dandie Fashions, an enterprise that the Beatles later transformed into Apple Tailoring, plus the hat and purple scarf worn on the cover of the "Smash Hits" album.

Opening April 16, "Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses" will cover the public and personal story of the trendsetting Seattle trio within the context of the independent and underground music scenes of the '80s and early '90s. Memorabilia will include 200 artifacts, 100 oral histories, handwritten lyrics, tour props, the band's first demo recording from 1988 and a yellow cardigan often worn by Kurt Cobain in 1991-94. There will be media lounges, listening stations, record walls, an original exhibition soundtrack by producer Steve Fisk and an audio guide narrated by bassist Krist Novoselic.

The final exhibit, "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power," runs June 15-Sept. 22. Outfits and artifacts from performers including Madonna, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and more will be on display. There will be recordings of exclusive interviews, and listening stations.

Cleveland:At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, visitors learn about giants of popular music, from James Brown and Bob Marley to the Who, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers and scores more. Visitors can hear more than 500 songs that helped shape history.

"Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip" will be open until April 12, tracing the 30-year career of a band that wrote its own rules through manuscripts, handwritten notes and artifacts from former roadies and devoted fans.

Permanent exhibits on the Beatles and other figures are frequently updated with new memorabilia and collections.

London:Musical innovator and mercurial icon David Bowie, who has only one Grammy to his name (best short-form video in 1984), will be celebrated at the Victoria and Albert Museum March 23 to July 28.

"David Bowie Is" explores the broad range of collaborations the chameleon-like performer has had with designers and artists in the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theater, art and film. More than 300 objects will be on display, including handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashions, photography, film, music videos, set designs and Bowie's own instruments. A costume highlight will be his Ziggy Stardust jumpsuit.

While in London, take a photo at 23 Heddon St., where the album cover of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" was shot. The site is marked with a commemorative plaque.

Stockholm:ABBA The Museum opens May 7, honoring Sweden's most successful band. It will be home to the quartet's collected works from 1972 to 1982, displayed in a musical and interactive exhibition. The museum is part of the new Swedish Music Hall of Fame and will have two permanent exhibitions: "The History of Swedish Popular Music" and "Hall of Fame."

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